Mental IllnessNCT07730307
Disclosure, Social Harm, and Support Activation Study
An observational study of Mental Illness and Suicidal, run by Yale University at 1 site in Uganda.
Trial summary
To characterize how disclosure of suicide or severe emotional distress functions socially in rural eastern Uganda: who people have disclosed to, what happened, what harms resulted, who they would want involved in future support, and under what conditions they would want support activated on their behalf. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Mental Illness, Suicidal
- What is being tested?
- Survey Questionnaire
- How many people
- 361 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUganda
- Study dates
- 25 May 2026to Aug 2026
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: The study population consists of adults aged 18 years or older living in rural eastern Uganda who have experienced suicidal thoughts or a suicide attempt, a period of severe depressive distress lasting at least two weeks, or prior disclosure of suicidality or severe emotional distress. Participants will be recruited through outpatient clinic visits, community health worker referrals, and participant-mediated referrals. Individuals who are currently in an acute suicidal crisis with intent or a plan will be referred for immediate support and enrolled only after stabilization, while those unable to consent or complete the survey safely will be excluded or reconsidered later. The study plans to enroll 80-100 participants in the quantitative survey, with 20-30 purposively selected for qualitative interviews representing helpful, harmful or forced, mixed, and non-disclosure experiences
Who may be able to join
- Meets at least one of the following:
- self-reports a history of suicidal ideation or attempt,
- self-reports a period of severe depressive distress (persistent sadness, hopelessness, withdrawal lasting ≥2 weeks), or
- has previously disclosed suicidal thoughts or severe distress to another person
- Able and willing to provide informed consent
Who cannot join
- Currently in acute suicidal crisis with intent or plan (activate safeguarding protocol, defer enrollment to after stabilization)
- Unable to engage in a 25-30 minute survey without significant distress
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Uganda1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Empower to Heal- Uganda
Mpunde, Buyende District
Rauben Kazungu, B.A., kazungu@ethealth.org
About this study
Official title: Disclosure, Social Harm, and Support Activation Study:How Disclosure of Suicidality and Severe Emotional Distress Functions Socially in Rural Eastern Uganda
To characterize how disclosure of suicide or severe emotional distress functions socially in rural eastern Uganda: who people have disclosed to, what happened, what harms resulted, who they would want involved in future support, and under what conditions they would want support activated on their behalf.
Read the detailed description
This study aims to understand how disclosing suicidal thoughts or severe emotional distress leads to either social support or social harm in rural eastern Uganda, and to identify how support can be activated safely and according to individuals' preferences. Using a cross-sectional mixed-methods design, researchers will administer structured surveys to 80-100 adults with lived experience of suicidality or severe distress and conduct 20-30 in-depth interviews with participants representing helpful, harmful or forced, mixed, and non-disclosure experiences. The study will examine disclosure pathways, adverse social consequences, preferred support persons, acceptable conditions for contacting others, and willingness to undergo suicide screening, with safeguarding procedures integrated throughout data collection
- Conditions
- Mental Illness, Suicidal
- Being tested
- Survey Questionnaire
- Keywords
- suicide disclosure
- Medical subject headings
- Mental Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Survey QuestionnaireOther
Survey capturing disclosure history (who was told, when, why, how), disclosure outcomes (what happened, what harms resulted), disclosure comfort (willingness to tell specific people under specific conditions), social harm inventory (lifetime and recent harms following disclosure), preferred support persons and conditions for activation, and willingness to be screened
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Helpful Disclosure Group | Participants whose disclosure led to a supportive response. Interviews explore what made it work: who they told, how they told them, what the person did, and what conditions enabled a positive outcome. Receives: Other: Survey Questionnaire | |
| Harmful Disclosure Group | Participants who experienced social harm after disclosure (whether voluntary or involuntary). Interviews reconstruct the harm sequence: what happened, who was involved, what the consequences were, and what could have prevented it. Receives: Other: Survey Questionnaire | |
| Never Disclosed Group | Participants who have experienced severe distress but never told anyone. Interviews explore what prevented disclosure, what they feared, and what would have to be different for them to feel safe disclosing. Receives: Other: Survey Questionnaire |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Social Harm Inventory
A 10-item inventory of adverse social harms experienced after disclosure: family anger/punishment, community gossip, police involvement, confinement/restraint, forced traditional healing, loss of employment or income, relationship termination, public humiliation, unwanted religious intervention, and other. Each endorsed item rated on a likert scale for severity (mild, moderate, severe) and recency (past month, past year, over a year ago). These likert scales maybe be interpreted numerically (1-mild, 2- moderate, 3- severe and 1-over a year ago, 2- past year, 3- past month) with a higher score indicating higher severity and recency of each of the measured social harms. Scores range from 1 to 3 on each severity and recency scale.
Measured: Through 60 minute survey and interview
Secondary outcomes (2)
Disclosure Comfort
Willingness to disclose suicidal thoughts or severe distress to each of 9 potential support persons (spouse, parent, sibling, close friend, religious leader, CHW, health worker, traditional healer, employer/teacher) rated on a 4-point scale (1-definitely would, 2- might, 3- probably not, 4- definitely not). Scores on this Likert Scale range from 1-4 with lower scores indicating high comfort disclosing to a sub-group of support persons and higher scores indicating low comfort of disclosure.
Measured: Through 60 min Interview and survey period
Support Activation Preferences
The core Connection Prescription module. For each potential support person, participants indicate: (a) whether they would want that person contacted if they were in crisis, (b) under what conditions (only with my permission, if I'm in danger, anytime), (c) what they would want that person to do (listen, stay with me, take me to clinic, pray with me, nothing), and (d) who should NEVER be told. This directly parameterizes the Connection Prescription. Question (a) is a discrete choice response with yes scored as '1' and no scored as '0'. TQuestion (b) is rated on a likert scale ranging 1-3 with 1 indicating more consistent comfort with supporter activation and 3 indicating activation in only particular circumstances. Question (c) will allow participants to select mutli-items form the scale and question (d) will allow participants to fill in the blank thus not being scored.
Measured: Through 60 minute interview and survey period
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted28 Jul 2026
- Study start25 May 2026
- Primary completionAug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionAug 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Mental IllnessStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Yale UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Enrolment
- 361 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Yale University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Yang Jae Lee, MD, Principal investigator, Yale University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07730307
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2000034605_c
- Status last verified
- Jul 2026
- First submitted
- 23 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 28 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 28 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Disclosure, Social Harm, and Support Activation Study:How Disclosure of Suicidality and Severe Emotional Distress Functions Socially in Rural Eastern Uganda
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07730307
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2000034605_c
- Conditions
- Mental Illness, Suicidal
- Keywords
- suicide disclosure
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 361 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Yale UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 25 May 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Aug 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 28 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
To characterize how disclosure of suicide or severe emotional distress functions socially in rural eastern Uganda: who people have disclosed to, what happened, what harms resulted, who they would want involved in future support, and under what conditions they would want support activated on their behalf.
Detailed description
This study aims to understand how disclosing suicidal thoughts or severe emotional distress leads to either social support or social harm in rural eastern Uganda, and to identify how support can be activated safely and according to individuals' preferences. Using a cross-sectional mixed-methods design, researchers will administer structured surveys to 80-100 adults with lived experience of suicidality or severe distress and conduct 20-30 in-depth interviews with participants representing helpful, harmful or forced, mixed, and non-disclosure experiences. The study will examine disclosure pathways, adverse social consequences, preferred support persons, acceptable conditions for contacting others, and willingness to undergo suicide screening, with safeguarding procedures integrated throughout data collection
Study design
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Helpful Disclosure Group | – | Other: Survey QuestionnaireParticipants whose disclosure led to a supportive response. Interviews explore what made it work: who they told, how they told them, what the person did, and what conditions enabled a positive outcome. |
| Harmful Disclosure Group | – | Other: Survey QuestionnaireParticipants who experienced social harm after disclosure (whether voluntary or involuntary). Interviews reconstruct the harm sequence: what happened, who was involved, what the consequences were, and what could have prevented it. |
| Never Disclosed Group | – | Other: Survey QuestionnaireParticipants who have experienced severe distress but never told anyone. Interviews explore what prevented disclosure, what they feared, and what would have to be different for them to feel safe disclosing. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- The study population consists of adults aged 18 years or older living in rural eastern Uganda who have experienced suicidal thoughts or a suicide attempt, a period of severe depressive distress lasting at least two weeks, or prior disclosure of suicidality or severe emotional distress. Participants will be recruited through outpatient clinic visits, community health worker referrals, and participant-mediated referrals. Individuals who are currently in an acute suicidal crisis with intent or a plan will be referred for immediate support and enrolled only after stabilization, while those unable to consent or complete the survey safely will be excluded or reconsidered later. The study plans to enroll 80-100 participants in the quantitative survey, with 20-30 purposively selected for qualitative interviews representing helpful, harmful or forced, mixed, and non-disclosure experiences
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Meets at least one of the following:
- Able and willing to provide informed consent
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Currently in acute suicidal crisis with intent or plan (activate safeguarding protocol, defer enrollment to after stabilization)
- Unable to engage in a 25-30 minute survey without significant distress
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Survey QuestionnaireSurvey capturing disclosure history (who was told, when, why, how), disclosure outcomes (what happened, what harms resulted), disclosure comfort (willingness to tell specific people under specific conditions), social harm inventory (lifetime and recent harms following disclosure), preferred support persons and conditions for activation, and willingness to be screened | Other | Harmful Disclosure Group, Helpful Disclosure Group, Never Disclosed Group |
Primary outcome
Social Harm Inventory
Time frame: Through 60 minute survey and interview
A 10-item inventory of adverse social harms experienced after disclosure: family anger/punishment, community gossip, police involvement, confinement/restraint, forced traditional healing, loss of employment or income, relationship termination, public humiliation, unwanted religious intervention, and other. Each endorsed item rated on a likert scale for severity (mild, moderate, severe) and recency (past month, past year, over a year ago). These likert scales maybe be interpreted numerically (1-mild, 2- moderate, 3- severe and 1-over a year ago, 2- past year, 3- past month) with a higher score indicating higher severity and recency of each of the measured social harms. Scores range from 1 to 3 on each severity and recency scale.
2 secondary outcomes
Disclosure Comfort
Time frame: Through 60 min Interview and survey period
Support Activation Preferences
Time frame: Through 60 minute interview and survey period
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 28 Jul 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Yang Jae Lee, MD principal investigator
Yale University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Mental Illness and Suicidal, run by Yale University at 1 site in Uganda.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 28 Jul 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Uganda. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Yang Jae Lee, MD (7066919813, leeyjae@uw.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Social Harm Inventory (time frame: Through 60 minute survey and interview). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 28 Jul 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 27 Oct 2026.